Maria Bonita, Prenzlauer Berg, Berlin

An Australian once told me that an American to Mexican food is like a horse to water. True. And it’s not just Americans who find satisfaction when they head to any of these three watering holes. The three Maria’s (Maria Bonita, Santa Maria, Maria Peligro) make it frightfully easy to drown oneself in all the glories of tequila-friendly food, no matter where you are in Berlin. And the best part? This isn’t the kind of Mexican one is used to finding in Europe. For starters, it’s authentic. And it’s more than affordable. And, speaking as one who has done my research on Mexican food situation world-wide, it’s simply just ridiculously good.

I personally prefer the hole-in-the-wall appeal of this original location in Prenzlauer Berg – Maria Bonita. I’m by all definitions ‘a regular’ there. But there’s something that has to be said for Taco Tuesdays at Santa Maria in Kreuzberg. No one can beat 1€ tacos and tequila. No one.

Ave las Marias!

went there tonight for a takeaway burrito. It was definitely smaller than, say, chipotle portions, but one was pretty filling. Tastewise it was delicious! very flavorful refried beans with perfect chicken. again, the burrito wasn’t stuffed to overflowing with rice, salad, cheese, etc. just refried beans and meat, but I will definitely go back for my mexican food fix!

When I first heard about this place, I was spending a year away from Berlin and was so excited to get back and try it. Then I read some of the more recent reviews on Qype and started feeling skeptical – so many people said the quality has gone down and the portion sizes too. I wasn’t really in any hurry to go over there. But I happened to be walking by tonight so I decided to give it a chance.

Well, I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised. The tacos were really pretty decent! I really don’t see what all the griping is about, people. I’m not afraid to gripe about bad Mexican food myself (see huge debate I accidentally started on the Dolores page), but I would consider Maria Bonita a decent taco place even if it was in California and not Berlin, where the pickings are slim and the standards, until recently, have been low.

For €5.50 I had three tacos on cute little tortillas (very small, but tasted like homemade) with an VERY generous amount of freshly griddled, crispy, juicy chopped pork, with nice little bits of fat, piled on each one. After adding the chopped onions, pico de gallo, and lime provided, I could barely lift the tacos to eat them without filling tumbling out. I had to eat the excess filling with a fork. Two little enameled tin cups of green and red salsa were also provided – I stuck with the green and it was tomatillo-y and tasty. I regularly paid around $5 for the same thing from taco trucks Stateside, so I consider €5.50 a very fair price for a place that has indoor seating, however simple. As I said, I’m really not sure what all the complaining is about. I thought the food was quite good and a good value.

My only critical feedback is that the service was a bit scattered. I got the distinct feeling that the counter guy couldn’t actually speak German, but he wouldn’t come out and say this to anyone, which caused some amount of confusion (most taco fans can speak English, but we aren’t going to unless you ask us to!). Also my tacos were delivered without silverware (understandable, since you should really eat them with your hands) and without napkins (not so understandable, since you should really eat them with your hands).

Oh, and I would have loved some sliced radishes with my tacos! They are on sale for 11 cents at Edeka right now so I’m sure they could add this flourish without raising the prices ;)

But these are minor issues – the food was right, and that’s what counts. I’ll certainly be stopping by again.

It’s a very nice place where to enjoy unexpensive mexican food. It actually tastes good and you can have a nice lauch sitting along the road with a plate of guacamole and a corona in your hand! Really recommend it!

I used to love this place.

…but the quality of the food has slipped since they expanded to the other restaurants. The portions have always been small (though, may be getting smaller), and the price-to-food ratio has always been pretty high.

When Maria Bonita came on the scene, they were the only guys in town serving decent Mexican food (oh, the shrimp tacos on home-made tortilla were amazing!!!). There still aren’t many others in Berlin serving better Mexican. Sadly, though, Maria Bonita is not pushing any limits on creativity, quality, or quantity at the moment.

That said, as an American, I can’t avoid the magnetic pull from Maria Bonita, despite the fact that I usually walk away feeling I’ve paid too much to be still hungry.

It’s taken me ages to find (nearly) real Mexican food in Berlin. But then again, being better than the competition doesn’t mean it’s perfect. It’s still got to work on some of its dishes, with Teutonic blandness being too often a problem. Just found a good blog entry about it: http://footprintsinberlin.blogspot.com/2011/07/comfort-we...

Hands down the best Mexican food I've found in Berlin so far! The tacos carnitas were great-- with the corn tortillas I miss so much, pico de gallo, cilantro, and the pork was just a little crispy... Love it!

Great food and amazing margaritas. My favorite Mexican in Berlin.

Don't listen to the negative reviews - this place is the real deal!

Walking along Danzigerstr. with all it's tasty looking restaurants it is very easy to oversee this tiny little something (not sure what to call it, it's not really a restaurant nor a bar..) which, to make things worse, doesn't look that attractive from the outside. However, give yourself a little shove, try it out, and you will get some of the best burritos in Berlin.

We had some tortilla chips with the guacamole, chicken and pork burritos as well as a quesadilla and Mexican chorizo (yes, we ate a lot).
The food is excellent and amongst the best Mexican dishes I've tasted in Berlin. Special mention to the guacamole which was truly delicious! Everything (including the sauces) is home made and served by a very friendly American dude who was very happy to make some recommendations to the indecisive amongst us.

The Mexican Chorizo wasn't that great though I think that was more an issue of personal preference (I prefer Spanish, the one they had there, also self made, was a bit too bitter for my taste). It's something new so worth a try.

The only downside of Maria Bonita is that the place is tiny, the decoration and the plates look cheap and not very comfortable. Worst point for me was that there is no toilet, so it's not really that convenient if you want to spend a bit more time in the place for a few drinks (they have an excellent, albeit 5 Euro a shot, tequila).

Price wise the place is fine. around 5-8 Euros depending on what you are having. The portions aren't huge but enough to fill you up to that nice little wanting-to-go-to-bed-and-have-someone-rub-your-belly level.

In summary, I highly recommend this place to anyone who loves Mexican food - but make sure you go to the loo before;)

I found this restaurant while visiting Berlin, and craving Mexican food. As a Native Texan who has lived in Texas for 41 years, and a regular eater of Mexican food, I know when it's good and when it's not. THIS IS GOOD MEXICAN FOOD! We had enchiladas suiza (or aka enchiladas verdes), tamales, and tostadas (aka chalupas), along with margaritas, beer, micheladas, and some other very oddly mixed drink that I can't remember. We visited with the owner, who is from Mexico City, and he was extremely friendly toward us. I would highly, highly recommend this place. Hopefully we'll be able to visit Berlin again some time; if we do, this is first on our places to go!

Went with a friend. We had Carnitas and a Taco. The food was good, but the place is sad, small and shabby. There was a guy with an american accent taking orders and another with a spanish accent cooking, both were unfriendly and with a little attitude, which is always kinda ridiculous but even more so in a joint like that. Must be all the hype of the wannabe hipsters of the expat community. At €5.50 for small portions, it's definitely overpriced. Definitely not going back. There are better restaurants serving Mexican and South American food in Schoneberg. Do your homework

Best Mexican in town!!

We had the "alambre" burrito and a steak taco today (to go) and they were both good enough that we wished we'd ordered two. I'm glad I read the reviews about it being good for Berlin, but not necessarily amazing for California/Mexico standards. It's not quite Baja Fresh, but still pretty awesome. They might be able to do with some more lard and salt in their beans, but once you put their salsa verde on top of anything, it tastes exciting. I'm totally bummed out that I don't have any chips right now to eat the last drops with. We'll definitely go back--and probably order the same thing.

Blown away by such a little place!!... the guys in there (dunno if they are mexican for real) sure know what they are doing.... So much different from what i expected from a mexican restaurant... I had the mole enchiladas (even tho the idea of chocolate in my chicken was weird at first) and they where AMAZING... the guy in there told me they have a new cantina, so i definetly will check it out... Viva la Mexico!!!

Awesome, awesome, awesome! Did I mention their food is awesome? Very authentic flavors and reasonably priced. Unfortunately, as mentioned by everybody else, there's not much space to sit down, so go at an off peak time, or be prepared to wait.

I finally made it across town to try this place everyone is raving about. I think it's damn close. It's nice Berlin finally has a place for great Mexican food!!! As others have said, it's more like a taquería, so very little space to eat in.

I ordered the enchiladas de pollo con mole (chicken enchiladas with mole). At first glance I could tell the corn tortillas were fresh. I liked the mole but it was a bit too sweet and not spicy enough. But please don't misunderstand, it was VERY good. My only complaint is that they aren't substantial enough if you're hungry, so at 6,50 € it's not very economical to fill yourself up. That said... I ordered a quesadilla con chorizo casero (quesadilla with home-made chorizo), also 6,50 €. I just now had it at home, cold. It was very very nice as well. The flour tortilla was fresh with a nice cheese and chorizo. It was served with a fresh guacamole with fresh cilantro (coriander). There were two pots of salsa, one green and the other red.

All in all, I am quite pleased with the nice flavours. I wasn't that pleased with the rap music playing in the background though.

So I heard the tacos here are the best in Berlin, and had to give it a try. The atmosphere and food here is much more taqueria than Chipotle. Having perused the menu, I was tempted by the enchiladas and burritos as well as the tacos, but had to go with the latter to see if the hype is true. I got Tacos Carnitas and they were tiny, like silver dollar pancakes but tacos, and had I shelled out 6eur for them alone I would have been mighty pissed. As it was, a substantial helping of guac, rice and beans on the side cost only 2eur extra, and the total price of 8eur for the plate seemed less objectionable, though still somewhat pricy for my (admittedly cheapskate) standards. The carnitas were tender and flavorful, but had no spice. I dumped almost the whole container of salsa from the table onto my plate, and it added only a moderate amount of spiciness. Plus, the guacamole was a bit too creamy and bland for my taste. I can make it 10x better at home. The plate was merely passable. The saving grace of this experience, however, was my friend's chicken-and-pumpkin burrito (the menu's pumpkin burrito, with chicken added for an extra euro). It was scrumptious. My one complaint with it was that it fell apart at any attempt to pick it up--get sturdier tortillas! Nonetheless, we happily grabbed it our of the container with our fingers and gobbled it down. I plan to go back and try the enchiladas sometime, but I wasn't overly impressed.

the rumors are true. it's real, and it's good. tamales, enchiladas, tacos with homemade corn tortillas, salsa verde. it's all here. is it the best mexican food i've ever had? of course not. is it the best mexican food you can get in berlin? absolutely. these guys are smart and started small with a small menu.

if i had to nitpick, it would be on prices. 4 euro for 3 tacos is hardly a meal, so you should plan to spend more. the 6 euro dishes are a better value. i wasn't stuffed after my enchiladas, but i was pleasantly satisfied and didn't need anything else.

cheers to the owners, a place like maria bonita has been needed in berlin for a long time. rumor has it that they are already planning more locations.

coming from LA, where Mexican food reigns next to Mexico itself, this place was hyped upped by many of friends here in Berlin…the guy at the counter: not so friendly, the food, i guess as “authentic” as you can get here in Berlin, period….
BUT not so great as reviewers have stated…esp. when runned by a “mexican, texan and australian…” the fish tacos: not so good (too much batter, REAL fish tacos has no batter!), the beef tacos: decent…the chips with guacamole and salsa was the most “authentic”...the guy behind the counter should ditch his attitude (.too big for one’s britches!!). YES lots of Americans/ex-pats there and crowded, i guess since there is NOTHING else much instead of Dolore’s burritos (which is Baja-Fresh wannabe’s), i suppose this is the “best” we can get so far..careful guys…..and whats up with the location..not worth the travel unless you live in the hood..NEXT PLEASE